Advice for the next education minister

When an election is called, the work of government slows down. Politicians rush out onto the hastings, while bureaucrats work on briefing binders to await new ministers.

I hope this editorial hits the pile of reading material gathered for new education minister, Demetrios Nicolaides.

Alberta has an outstanding world-class public education system. With so much good stuff happening, being the education minister can be a very rewarding experience, but it can also be difficult to manage a wide variety of competing expectations. And if the minister is offside with what teachers want and need, then their job becomes very difficult and unsatisfying.

Coming out of the first four years of UCP government, teachers have a long list of grievances: removing protections for LGBTQ2S+ students; curriculum (leaving out teachers, disastrous first drafts, pushing ahead despite concerns); cancelling class size data collection; the pension hijacking; new testing; advanced privatization; EA layoffs; the takeover of teacher discipline; attacking teachers who wanted safer classrooms during the pandemic; actions to deprofessionalize teaching; and years of underfunding and budget cuts.

One theme threads this long list together: not listening to teachers.

The previous minister often dismissed legitimate concerns raised by teachers. Sometimes the concerns were undermined by superintendents or trustees and sometimes they were dismissed as partisan attacks. This was a mistake, and I think it allowed the relationship between teachers and government to spiral down.

It is quite possible to look at that long list of grievances and conclude that the relationship is irreparable. This would also be a mistake.

Teachers are nothing if not future focused. They are genuinely interested in achieving the best outcomes for students. We know that students’ interests are best served when government and the profession work together. I believe teachers will be interested in turning over a new leaf with a new minister.

This isn’t to say you can ignore the history. Rather, build the relationship by acknowledging the past and recognizing how work must be done differently to avoid the errors. It comes from listening.

If the new minister chooses to take a serious look at unresolved issues and makes a credible choice to engage and listen to teachers on these issues, I think they will find success. There are four big issues that need the minister’s attention.

The first is curriculum. Public outrage may have subsided, but teachers remain concerned. The new curriculum is overloaded and overly prescriptive. Only 37 per cent of teachers are satisfied with the ELA curriculum and just 26 per cent with math. Teachers say they do not have the resources required for successful implementation. There is no need to rush implementation; we need to get it right.

The second issue is teacher recruitment and retention. This is an emerging issue that will quickly become critical. Currently, there is a significant shortage of substitute teachers, but with rapid student population growth and a lack of retention, we will soon see many contract positions going unfilled. Teacher wellness and job satisfaction are major contributors to this issue and watering down teacher qualifications will be counterproductive in the long run.

This dovetails with the third issue: class size, complexity and supports for students. Despite the lack of data, teachers know class sizes have grown considerably. Our larger classes also have more students with diverse backgrounds and diverse learning needs. Students are suffering and teachers are unable to give them the support and attention they require, and this leads to moral distress. Fortunately, the government acknowledged the issue in the last budget, but more is needed.

That brings us to issue number four: funding. Despite being the wealthiest province, Alberta is dead last in the country for per-pupil funding of public education. Per-pupil funding has declined further since that data was last collected. Services get cut, programs close and class sizes grow. The last budget included a boost, but it is just a start. School boards must be pushed to invest the funding in classrooms and the government must follow with more significant increases in the years ahead.

These are big issues, but they also create a focused opportunity for the new minister. With the right attitude and a spirit of collaboration they can get it done and have the very rewarding experience. Alternately, there is a path of conflict and difficulty. My advice: choose the former. As always, we are here to help